The Border Collies

Jack

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Disclosures

Unless specifically stated otherwise in the individual post, beginning Nov. 1, 2009, every book read and "reviewed" on Books 'N Border Collies was purchased for my private collection or came from the public library system.

I am an Amazon Associate and some of the links in posts do lead to Amazon.

NOTICE: (Updated March 5, 2010)

Beginning December 19, 2009, Books 'N Border Collies will be posting but only intermittently while I pursue personal goals. I plan to share some reading I'm doing, but there will be no reviews. I will, however, be sharing my exploration of vegetarian cooking and the cookbooks and websites I use to educate myself. I hope you enjoy it!

Lezlie

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

THE HUMBLING

by Philip Roth

Now in his 60's, stage sensation Simon Axler's life falls apart when he suddenly and inexplicably loses his ability to act. An unexpected, unconventional relationship with a woman 25 years his junior appears at first to be a chance at a happy new life, until he is painfully reminded that the stage is not the only place where people act.

If you're feeling a little bad about yourself and need a great pick-me-up to return you to starry-eyed optimism, The Humbling is not your book. It can only be considered a light read due to it's novella page count of 140 and Philip Roth's easy-reading style. It's not a depressing book, but it doesn't leave the reader feeling good.

I liked The Humbling because I enjoy Roth's writing in general. He always gives me something to think about when I turn the final pages. I plan to read many more of his books in the coming months. However, if you're looking to explore Roth's work for the first time, I don't recommend starting here. It's worth the short time it takes to read, but for first-timers I would suggest The Plot Against America or American Pastoral.

13 comments:

I added Exit Ghost to my stacks a while back and Deception this past weekend. His early stuff is far better, but his themes are so strong, I always have to read the new stuff, too. I'll get to The Humbling one of these days!

I am not sure how I feel about Roth. The first book of his that I read was The Plot Against America, which I loved. The second was American Pastoral, which I not only didn't like, I gave up after about 100 pages. And it is put me off Roth. I am not sure if I want to try again.

Andi ~ I haven't read any of his older works, and I really need to. I have The Ghost Writer and The Great American Novel high on the "soon" list. Any recommendations? Which were your favorites?

Diane ~ I can't wait to see what you think of it! I haven't seen any other bloggers thoughts on it, and I'm very curious.

Shellie ~ I did like it, but I didn't think the messages from this one were as strong as some of his other books I've read. Or maybe it was just different. The others felt much more multi-layered, whereas this one felt thoughtful but thin. Does that make sense?

Thomas ~ I would have to say The Plot Against America has been my favorite so far. I liked American Pastoral, but it wasn't nearly as engaging. Andi says his early work is the best, so I want to reach back and see what I think. I also have a book of critical essays on his work that I'm eager to dive into. Sometimes books like that give me a new perspective that make certain works more interesting. I'll let you know if I come up with others that hold up to Plot Against America.

Rose City Reader ~ Definitely wait for a good mood. I read it while I was in the midst of a small but hurtful personal crisis, and it did *not* help. :-) I will add your suggestions to my "soon" list. He has so many that look interesting!

Short Works Read In 2009

This will include short stories, essays and poetry. I will mostly likely not post thoughts on every piece listed here, especially individual poems, but the ones I do write about will be linked. If you have any questions about any of them, feel free to ask! Every group of 10 short stories/essays will be counted as a single "book" in my final book count at the end of the year. However, none of these "books" will qualify for the initial 100 books in the 100+ Reading Challenge. I'm not yet sure how to count single poems. Let's see if I read enough of them to merit counting. If not, they're just good reading!

Short Stories:

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates (Read Online)"Hansel and Gretel" by The Brothers Grimm (Read Online)"A Report to an Academy" by Franz Kafka (Read Online)

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

In an effort to clean things up and make room for the massive list of books I will read this year (if all these Challenges have anything to say about it!), this list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and my progress can now be found from the link on my sidebar under "Ongoing Reading Projects". Or just click here! :-)